Oil painting has been a revered art form for centuries, dating back to the early Renaissance period in the 15th century. Its origins are often credited to the Northern European painters who experimented with pigments suspended in oil, creating vibrant and durable works that stand the test of time. The versatility of oil paint allowed artists to blend colors seamlessly, build up rich textures, and create luminous glazes, resulting in masterpieces that continue to captivate audiences today.
One of the most influential techniques in oil painting is sfumato, famously used by Leonardo da Vinci. This technique involves the delicate blending of colors and tones to create soft transitions between light and shadow, giving his paintings a lifelike and almost ethereal quality. In works like the Mona Lisa, Leonardo’s use of sfumato showcases his meticulous attention to detail and his ability to create depth and realism. His brushwork is smooth and nearly invisible, creating a seamless effect that draws the viewer into the serene, enigmatic world of his subjects.
In contrast, Rembrandt van Rijn took oil painting in a different direction with his dramatic use of chiaroscuro, a technique that emphasizes the strong contrast between light and dark to highlight the emotional depth of his subjects. Rembrandt’s brushwork is characterized by thick, expressive layers of paint known as impasto, which adds texture and a tactile quality to his works. In paintings like The Night Watch and The Return of the Prodigal Son, his mastery of light and shadow, combined with his rich, earthy color palette, brings a powerful emotional intensity to his compositions, making the figures almost leap out from the darkness.
Moving into the late 19th century, Vincent van Gogh revolutionized oil painting with his bold, expressive style. Unlike Leonardo and Rembrandt, who focused on realism and emotional depth through subtle techniques, van Gogh embraced a more emotional and subjective approach. His technique involved the application of thick, textured layers of paint in pronounced, swirling brushstrokes that conveyed a sense of movement and energy. In iconic works like The Starry Night and Sunflowers, van Gogh’s use of vibrant, exaggerated colors and dynamic brushwork captures the raw emotion and turbulence of his inner world. His choice of colors was often symbolic, chosen for their emotional resonance rather than for realism, which further set his work apart from his predecessors.
These techniques—sfumato, chiaroscuro, and impasto—along with the expressive use of color and texture, have defined the evolution of oil painting and have been employed by masters like Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Vincent van Gogh to create works of enduring significance. Each artist brought a unique approach to the medium, whether it was Leonardo’s pursuit of lifelike perfection, Rembrandt’s exploration of human emotion, or van Gogh’s vivid expression of personal turmoil. These artistic innovations have not only shaped the history of art but continue to inspire modern creators.
In the digital age, the essence of these traditional techniques has been reimagined through technology. With the advent of specialized apps, anyone can now transform their photos into stunning oil paintings with just a few taps. These apps harness the power of AI and advanced filters to replicate the textures, brushstrokes, and colors that define traditional oil paintings, allowing users to create their own masterpieces inspired by the techniques of the greats. In this blog post, we’ll explore the top 5 oil painting apps that bring the timeless beauty of this art form into the digital realm, making it accessible to everyone, whether you’re an art enthusiast or a casual creator.
Prisma
Prisma has long been a favorite among users who enjoy transforming their photos into various artistic styles, including oil paintings. The app offers an extensive library of over 700 styles, accessible through a paid subscription, making it a versatile tool for digital artistry. However, when it comes to finding specific oil painting filters, the app presents some challenges.
Features and Usability:
While Prisma boasts a huge array of filters, finding the oil painting style you want can be frustrating. When you search specifically for oil painting filters, only one option comes up. The rest are scattered across various categories, requiring you to sift through them individually—a time-consuming process. A helpful shortcut is selecting the “Prisma Classics” category, but even this isn’t without its drawbacks. The app only displays styles in thumbnail format, making it difficult to assess the details until you apply the filter to your image. To apply a filter from the vast filter gallery, one has to add this to the personal favourites first. This can be tedious because of all the back-and-forth. We could however see the prominent styles of sfumato, chiaroscuro, and impasto being used in their filter selections, which is true to the traditional oil painting styles.
“Mononoke” filter on Prisma with an impasto style.
Customization and Tools:
Prisma offers basic adjustment tools such as exposure, contrast, saturation, highlights, vibrance, sharpen, and fade. These tools allow for some level of customization, but they are fairly standard and may not satisfy users looking for more advanced editing options. The app also lets you control the intensity of the style on your image, giving you some flexibility in how much of the filter’s effect you want to apply. However, there’s not much of an ability to adjust the style of the filter directly, which is a roadblock for users looking for more specific adjustment tools.
One of Prisma’s notable features is its AI-powered background replacement, which allows you to either select a custom background or upload your own. The app automatically detects and separates the foreground from the background, which can be a handy tool for creative compositions. However, like with its filters, this process can be slow, adding to the overall wait time that users experience while using the app.
Different Background Selections in Prisma
SD vs HD
Another drawback is the loading time for filters, especially when switching between standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) versions. The difference in quality between SD and HD is noticeable, but the extra time it takes to apply the HD filter can be frustrating. While Prisma offers a wealth of styles and features, the difficulty in finding the perfect oil painting filter and the wait times involved can detract from its appeal.
For those interested, the app offers a weekly trial at $1.99, which might be worth exploring. However, for longer-term use, the subscription price may seem steep considering the app’s limitations and the time investment required to achieve the desired results.
Final Thoughts:
Prisma offers a vast selection of Style Transfer filters, making it easy to apply effects with just one tap. However, while it excels in variety, it falls short in visual quality, particularly for oil paintings. Navigating the app, dealing with wait times, and finding the right filter can be dissatisfying, making it less efficient for those seeking a streamlined experience. If you don’t mind the exploration, Prisma can still produce some beautiful effects, but it might not be the best choice for high-quality oil painting results.
Oilbrush
Oilbrush stands out as a specialized app dedicated to transforming photos into stunning oil paintings. With 29 distinct oil painting styles, this app is an excellent choice for users specifically seeking to emulate the texture and depth characteristic of traditional oil paintings. Recently, Oilbrush has introduced new AI-driven features that enhance the user experience, making it easier to achieve professional-quality results with just a few clicks.
Features and Usability:
Oilbrush is tailored for those who appreciate the nuances of oil painting. The app offers a wide range of oil-specific painting styles, allowing users to experiment with different looks until they find the one that best suits their vision. One of the app’s standout features is the Auto Retouch tool, simplifies the editing process, enabling users to make significant enhancements with minimal effort. For instance, the “Abstract Background” option reduces details in the background to make the subject pop, while the “Remove Background” tool is perfect for creating stickers or preparing images for prints.
Oilbrush also includes a “Magic Erase” tool, which allows users to easily remove unwanted objects from their photos. This feature is particularly useful for refining images before applying the oil painting effects, ensuring that the final result is clean and polished.
Oilbrush’s wide array of fully customisable oil painting filters visually vary largely and are designed to give an authentic to the oil painting experience. For example, “Pure” and “Plain” filters are closer to Leonardo Da Vinci’s styles, reminiscent of his sfumato techniques. Whereas “Distinct” and “Embossed” filters would are similar to the chiaroscuro and impasto techniques from Rembrandt, and “Burning” and “Scenic”, would be more distinctive towards Van Gogh’s abstract and intense painting styles.
Users can also choose from a wide range of tools, including Color Filters, Canvases, and Photo Editing options, to craft their desired aesthetic.
Also, although this post mainly focuses on oil painting filters for images, it is notable that Oilbrush can also be used to create oil painting videos as well.
Customization and Tools:
What sets Oilbrush apart from all other apps is the level of control it gives users over their edits. Beyond the standard adjustments like saturation and brightness, Oilbrush provides painting-specific parameters such as “Softness” (for the oil strokes), “Details,” “Relief,” “Brush Size,” “Turbulence,” “Outline,” and “Colorfulness”. Using “Details,” “Softness,” and “Relief,” you can effectively control sfumato and impasto, transforming your artwork from a Leonardo-style piece to something more akin to a Rembrandt painting. These options allow users to fine-tune the painting effects to match their artistic preferences, resulting in a more personalized and authentic output.
For those who want to focus on specific areas of the image, Oilbrush offers a “Spot Retouch” feature, enabling localized adjustments using the same detailed parameters. Additionally, users can select color themes, apply vignettes, and choose from a variety of canvas textures to further enhance the artistic feel of their images. The ability to add a customizable signature to the final image is a nice touch, allowing users to put a personal stamp on their creations. With the latest introduction of Custom Styles you can create your own oil painting styles within the app.
Performance and Value:
Oilbrush excels in providing high-resolution export options, making it ideal for users planning to print their artwork. The app allows you to export images in resolutions up to 64MP and supports various file formats. This is especially notable, since most apps only offer 12 MP export resolution for their HD option. Users can also choose between lossless and storage-space optimised file formats and compression, which is crucial for large-scale production prints or to save valuable storage space on your iPhone. This level of output control is a significant advantage for artists, professionals and hobby users alike.
Its processing speed for displaying filters is nearly instant, and exporting high-resolution files takes just a few seconds. Even for more demanding tasks like video exports or 64MP renders, the process is completed in under a minute, making it impressively fast.
When it comes to filter accuracy, Oilbrush stands out among all the apps by delivering the most authentic and lifelike photo-to-oil painting transformations. Its ability to replicate the textures, strokes, and depth of traditional oil paintings ensures that users achieve a truly realistic artistic effect, making it the go-to choice for those seeking genuine oil painting results.
The app offers three pricing tiers: A monthly subscription for 1 month at $2.49, an annual subscription at $18.99 and a one-time, lifetime purchase at $49.99. Given the comprehensive features and the degree of customization Oilbrush offers, it provides excellent value for its price. Whether you’re a casual user looking to create beautiful oil paintings from your photos or a professional seeking a reliable tool for high-quality prints, Oilbrush is a versatile and powerful app that delivers on its promises.
Final Thoughts:
Oilbrush is arguably the most feature-rich app in this category, offering a vast array of oil painting styles and advanced editing tools that cater to both amateur and professional artists. The newly integrated AI features streamline the editing process, while the extensive customization options ensure that users can achieve precisely the look they desire. With its high-resolution export capabilities and support for various file formats, Oilbrush is an all-encompassing app that stands out as a top choice for anyone serious about digital oil painting. For the price, it’s one of the most worthwhile investments for creating stunning, print-ready artwork.
AI Mirror
AI Mirror is a creative app designed to transform your photos into various artistic styles, ranging from cartoon effects to oil paintings. However, its effectiveness as an oil painting tool may leave some users wanting more.
Features and Usability:
AI Mirror allows users to upload their own photos and enhance them with a wide array of styles. The paid version of the app offers faster processing times and unlocks additional effects, making it more appealing for those who value efficiency and variety. While the app includes a search function for filters, only one oil painting filter is available. The option to process images in HD and redraw them is available, but the results may not meet expectations for those specifically looking for a traditional oil painting effect.
The output often leans more towards a cartoon-like appearance than a true oil painting style, which unfortunately does not display any of the traditional oil painting techniques in their AI generated styles.
AI Mirror’s Oil Effect
When applying filters, AI Mirror generates up to four options for each image, with the HD versions being notably superior to the SD ones. This variety gives users a chance to choose the best result, but the overall quality can be hit or miss, particularly if you’re aiming for a realistic oil painting look.
4 versions of generated styles
SD vs HD Quality
Customization and Tools:
AI Mirror offers a DIY lab where users can combine two different styles with their photo. This feature is quite creative and can produce some interesting results, such as combining “Neon Punk” with “Spiderman” for a unique, hybrid effect. While this is a fun tool, it doesn’t contribute much to achieving a traditional oil painting aesthetic.
Spiderman x Neon Punk mix on AI Mirror
The app also includes a “Magic Brush” function, which allows users to highlight specific areas of an image and apply prompts to alter those areas—similar to Adobe Photoshop’s AI Generative tool. However, in practice, this feature can be unreliable. During testing, the Magic Brush didn’t always perform as expected, leading to disappointing results. Moreover, once a filter is applied, there are limited options for further editing beyond upgrading the image to HD quality, which can be a significant limitation for users seeking more control over the final outcome.
One of AI Mirror’s unique features is its themed filters inspired by popular games and pop culture, including styles from The Sims 4, GTA, Spirited Away, Crayon Shinchan, and film characters like Wonder Woman and Iron Man. This wide-ranging appeal makes the app attractive to a broad audience, particularly those interested in playful and stylized effects rather than traditional art styles. Beside adjusting the generated image by iterating over your text prompts, some filter allows users to adjust the level of “Imagination” from the AI, giving you some control over how much the photo is altered.
Performance and Value:
While AI Mirror provides an entertaining experience with its AI-generated filters and pop culture-inspired styles, it falls short as a dedicated oil painting app as it does not provide accurate oil paint filters to the image as much as it is requested. Bearing in mind that if you are not too hard on not having the most accurate paint filters, the annual fee of US$29.99 can be quite worthwhile if you enjoy AI generative functionalities, and have a need to batch create images for work purposes. Otherwise, for casual users, the weekly subscription at $4.99 offers a good value, providing an enjoyable way to experiment with AI-generated images during your free time. The AI generative functionalities, while innovative, are not as refined or smart as one might hope, and the limited control over image editing can be frustrating for users looking for more precise results. Additionally, the app’s processing times and the need to upgrade to HD for the best quality at 1.6MP megapixel resolution further diminish its appeal as a tool for serious digital artists.
However, if you’re interested in exploring AI’s potential for reimagining photos and enjoy the creative possibilities offered by the app’s diverse filter selection, AI Mirror could be a fun and worthwhile subscription. Just keep in mind that its strengths lie more in playful experimentation than in replicating the traditional oil painting experience.
Final Thoughts:
AI Mirror is a fascinating app with a wide range of creative possibilities, particularly for those interested in AI-generated art and pop culture styles. However, as a tool for turning photos into oil paintings, it doesn’t quite hit the mark. The app’s AI functionalities are still developing, and its limitations in control and editing might be a dealbreaker for users seeking a more traditional and refined oil painting effect. For those who appreciate its unique features and are willing to overlook its shortcomings, AI Mirror offers a playful and creative way to experiment with digital art.
Brushstroke
Brushstroke is a well-established app in the digital art market, being a long-term companion for many photo-to-painting enthusiast. Known for its versatile and intuitive features, Brushstroke allows users to transform their photos into paintings with a variety of styles and customization options. However, while the app has its strengths, it also comes with some limitations, particularly in terms of image resolution and output options.
Features and Usability:
Brushstroke stands out with its focus on recreating oil painting styles, though it doesn’t explicitly categorize its filters by painting types, except for a general “Oil” category. While some of the styles can appear quite expressive and bold, the app does provide options that closely resemble traditional oil painting techniques. This similarity to Oilbrush is important to note, as Brushstroke is dedicated to delivering a genuine oil painting experience.
The app allows users to select various “strokes,” which helps in replicating different artistic effects. This flexibility encourages experimentation, enabling users to find a style that aligns with their creative vision. In general the app is very easy to learn and use.
Customization and Tools:
Brushstroke offers multiple tools and options to customise your artwork. For example, after choosing a style, you can further customize your artwork by selecting a color palette, adding depth and mood to your creation. The “Canvas” texture option further influences the overall aesthetic, enhancing the authenticity of the oil painting effect.
One of the unique features of Brushstroke is the ability to adjust the “Thickness” of the strokes, offering a specific parameter that can significantly change the appearance of the painting. This metric is crucial for users who want to fine-tune their art style to achieve the desired effect. After completing these steps, you can add a signature to your artwork, personalizing it further before saving the final product.
While Brushstroke offers a good range of customization options, it falls short in a few key areas. Notably, the app does not provide meaningful options to adjust the export resolution or file type when saving your artwork. This limitation can be a drawback for users who plan to print their creations as art pieces, as the inability to control the file specifications might result in lower-quality prints. Moreover, despite the app’s promise of HD quality with a purchase, the finished artwork often appears low in resolution. This is particularly disappointing for those who value crisp, high-definition images, especially if they plan to use the app for professional or print purposes.
Performance and Value:
Brushstroke’s full version is available for a one-time purchase of $5.99, which is relatively affordable compared to subscription-based apps. For users who frequently engage in photo art editing, this price point offers good value, especially considering the range of styles and customization options available. However, the app’s limitations in image resolution and output control may make it less appealing to users who prioritize high-quality prints and professional-grade results.
The image processing speed is commendable, though the output quality can vary heavily and is more often on the lower side. The app offers a decent oil painting filter with customizable controls, but it falls short in terms of variety and overall accuracy.
Final Thoughts:
Brushstroke is a popular and user-friendly app that offers a variety of filters, stroke styles, and customization options, making it a solid choice for those looking to explore digital art. The ability to adjust stroke thickness and select color palettes adds a level of creative control that is appreciated by many users. However, the app’s shortcomings in fidelity, resolution and file output options may be a dealbreaker for those seeking to produce high-quality, print-ready artwork. For casual users or those looking for an affordable, versatile tool to experiment with, Brushstroke provides good value, but it may not meet the needs of more demanding artists or professionals.
Artomaton
Artomaton distinguishes itself by offering a more technical approach to create oil paintings along with other art styles from photos. The app offers a unique twist with its ability to add motion-based flair to your images – animating the painting for the artwork created. However it features only one oil painting filter, which may limit options for users specifically seeking diverse oil painting styles.
Features and Usability:
Artomaton’s standout feature is its ability to animate the painting of the photos, adding a captivating motion effect. The app includes a variety of artistic filters, but it notably offers just one oil painting filter. This filter can enhance your images with an artistic touch, but the lack of variety might be a limitation for those exploring different oil painting styles. With the filter, it does have a mix of sfumato and chiaroscuro techniques included in its oil filters which brings some resonance to traditional oil painting techniques.
The user interface is functional but might be slightly to technical for new users, especially when it comes to customising the effect. Applying and adjusting the single oil painting filter is straightforward, yet the app may not cater to users seeking a broader range of styles or advanced customization.
Generated photo from Artomaton.
Customization and Tools:
Artomaton provides basic adjustment tools such as brightness, contrast, and saturation, useful for fine-tuning your artwork. The app’s customization options allow you to adjust the filter related specifics in terms of the crosshatching and density of the style. The vignetting feature is particularly effective, as it naturally draws attention to the subject, enhancing the subject without appearing forced. The oil painting filter, while effective, lacks additional variations that could enrich the artistic possibilities. Besides the only downside highlighted, it allows you to select the canvas you want, further enhancing the aesthetic of the photo.
Performance and Value:
The app performs smoothly with quick application of filters and minimal loading times. However it has its limitations on the amount of different oil styles – but that one style does display its accuracy in oil for the art created. The one-time purchase price of $6.99 for all styles + $3.99 for all paper offers excellent value compared to subscription-based apps, especially for users interested in animating the painting of their art. Despite its limited selection of oil painting filters, Artomaton’s affordability and functionality make it a viable option for those seeking animated effects without ongoing costs.
Final Thoughts:
Artomaton’s focus on animated art sets it apart from other oil painting apps. While it provides only one oil painting filter, its ability to create dynamic, engaging art at a low cost makes it an appealing choice for users interested in animation and creative effects. If you’re looking for a budget-friendly way to animate your images and don’t mind the limited oil painting filter options and rather technical user interface, Artomaton is a solid choice.
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